Court extends the term of detention for mayor of Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi

The Kyiv District Court of Odesa granted the investigator's motion and extended the term of the preventive measure in the form of detention and removal from office for the mayor of Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi , Vitaliy Hryzhdan.

The relevant information is contained in the court ruling.

On July 20, an investigating judge of the Kyiv District Court imposed a pre-trial restraint on the mayor in the form of detention without bail until October 16, which was later extended until December 29.

According to law enforcement, Grazhdan headed a gang that tried to illegally seize a recreation center near the Black Sea coast in the village of Serhiivka, Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi district. To do this, the defendants forced the owner to give up 50% of her corporate rights and then appointed their "own" director to look for buyers for the complex. When the buyers were found, they wanted to take away the rest of the rights to the building.

The police also added that the defendants threatened the woman and warned that if she refused, they would pour acid on her.

According to the case file, the mayor engaged a lawyer he knew, as well as registrars and notaries under his control, to implement the scheme. They were supposed to re-register the campground for potential buyers.

Investigators served the official with a notice of suspicion of organizing extortion of property rights with the threat of violence against the victim, committed by a group of persons under martial law (Part 3 of Art. 27, Part 4 of Art. 189 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine). The issue of choosing a type of detention is currently being decided.

If proven guilty, the mayor faces up to 12 years in prison.

It should be noted that this is not the first detention of Vitaliy Grazhdan by the SBU. In October 2022, the mayor of Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi, Vitaliy Grazhdan, complained about being beaten by SBU special forces in his office.

At the time, the SBU commented on the incident, saying that the mayor had provoked the fight himself, so law enforcement officers were forced to handcuff him. He was then suspected of hooliganism and violation of the laws and customs of war.

Subsequently, the Odesa Regional Prosecutor's Office opened two proceedings over the incident, but the then-head of the Odesa Regional Prosecutor's Office, Serhii Kostenko, said that the search was part of a proceeding into possible financial fraud.

In April 2024, Vitaliy Grazhdan found himself at the epicenter of a scandal involving his beating of a young man. He claimed that the man had threatened to kill the mayor in response to his remarks.

In July 2022, Vitaliy Grazhdan was hospitalized after a fight with the then chairman of the Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi District Council, Hryhoriy Melnychenko.

Vitaliy Grazhdan said that the conflict arose over real estate.

Кирило Бойко